If you’re living by yourself or with roommates, and you rely on takeout more than you would ideally like to; are too busy and find yourself going out or picking up a quick bite to-go; feel cooking dinner after a long day at work or in class seems impossible — this meal prep guide is just for you.
What is meal prep?
Meal prepping is when you plan and prepare a week’s worth of meals in advance, so that your food is ready to eat with minimum fuss when you’re exhausted after a long day.
Meal prep does require a fair bit of planning, and is time consuming. It can seem overwhelming at first if you’ve never done it before, and you may wonder where or how to start, but it’s really not that bad.
If you’re ready to jump on the meal prep train, we’ve broken the basics down for you to achieve meal-prep success!
Why should you try meal prepping?
Meal prepping is a great way to make your life easier during the work week. Since meals are planned in advance, you’re not stuck with the same “what should I eat for dinner” dilemma every day. Trying to figure out what to eat for dinner can be stressful, and finding the motivation to cook it after a long day is even worse.
Planning your meals in advance also makes it easier to eat healthier. You’re less likely to order takeout if you already have a nutritious home-cooked meal waiting for you in the fridge. When you prepare your own food, you also know exactly what’s going into it, and you can be sure that it’s delicious, and nourishing.
With meal planning, you have a weekly game plan and are less likely to waste food too. Having an idea of what you’re going to be cooking while grocery shopping also allows you to stick to the list and actually use everything you buy, keeping impulse buys to a minimum. It not only saves you grocery money in the long run, but you also end up spending less money on ordering in, and eating more balanced, nutritious meals.
How to meal prep
Preparing several days worth of food can seem like a daunting task at first, but once you map out your basics, you’ll get the hang of it in no time. Here’s our guide to meal prep:
1. Plan
Before you start cooking, take some time to plan your menu. Figure out how many meals you’re going to make, and find recipes that work for you. Usually people meal-prep for the work week, which means 5 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. But this is totally up to you — if tackling so much prep feels overwhelming, start with something that’s achievable; whether that’s 3 dinners a week, or two lunches, or just all the breakfasts.
A good place to start planning is to look for recipes you may have favourited or saved. Look in your fridge and see what you have, think about any meals you’ve been craving, or simply start by taking note of what’s in season.
There are two kinds of recipes that work while meal prepping:
~ One pot meals — things like soups, curries, and stews that you can make all at once, and just portion out and store. For example, you can make a double batch of soup and heat it up twice during the week.
~ Component based meals — when you prep vegetables, proteins, grains, and dressings separately; and mix and match them throughout the week. For example, a batch of roasted veggies goes in your quinoa salad for dinner, becomes a taco filling for lunch the next day, and can be mixed into pasta the third day.
Make a balanced menu, and try to experiment with one new recipe each week. You don’t need to know exactly what you’ll eat for every meal, but it’s a good idea to have a template. A sample menu would consist of:
Breakfasts: smoothies, overnight oats
Lunches: salads, grain bowls, wraps
Dinners: stir frys, pastas, soups/stews
For this sample menu, you would:
- chop and freeze fruits for the smoothies
- prep overnight oats (and add the toppings when you’re eating it)
- chop and store veggies to quickly stir-fry and add to salads
- batch-roast veggies to add to salads, grain bowls, wraps/tacos
- prep grains
- cook a batch of soup/stew
Download our printable menu planner template for weekly planning here.
2. Shop
Once you have your menu, make a master grocery list. First write down all the ingredients from all the recipes, then group them according to category to make it easier to shop. Try to stick to recipes that use common ingredients in one week so you can make the maximum use of all the ingredients. Pick a day to shop (usually over the weekend), and stick to your list! It’s always better to have a written down list with you at the store rather than try to remember everything you need.
To get started, download our printable shopping list template here.
3. Cook
Once you’ve got groceries out of the way, find an hour to 90 minutes to cook everything, usually on Sundays. Make efficient use of your time in the kitchen, and multi-task. Set your grains (quinoa/rice/millets etc) to boil first. While that’s getting done, chop your fruits and veggies. Roast your veggies in the oven, and set a soup on the stove at the same time. Even doing something small like preparing your salad greens or herbs in advance can save you time over the week.
4. Pack
You’ve spent all this time planning and cooking, but it’ll all go to waste if you don’t store the food properly and it spoils. Here are some important tips to keep in mind when storing everything you meal prep.
~ Choose the right containers. It’s a good idea to invest in quality glass food storage boxes like this one and this one, that will make it easy for you to store the separate components, and portion out single servings for convenient grab-and-go.
~ Make smoothie packs by freezing all the ingredients for one serving together.
~ Let everything cool down before you pop it in the refrigerator.
~ Don’t mix-in any sauces or dressings, it’ll get the rest of the food soggy. Keep them in jars instead, and mix as you need. I like these jars for dressings and sauces.
~ Don’t chop things that brown in advance unless you’re freezing them — for example, apples, bananas, avocados are best chopped fresh.
~ You can also portion out dry ingredients — things like seeds, nuts, or any other dry toppings.
5. Experiment
Though you can still meal prep by making four servings of the same recipe and eating it 4x a week, it’s a definite way to get you really bored, really quick. One way to not fall into a rut while meal prepping is to try at least one new recipe a week. It’s an excellent time to try out recipes you’ve bookmarked or screenshoted lately, and never have the time for otherwise.
It’s also a good idea to incorporate different flavours into the same ingredients.
One way to do this is by making a few different dressings and sauces that can add tons of flavour. For example, to create variety with the same batch of veggies, stir-fry it with Asian sauces one night; mix it up in a simple red sauce for pasta another night, or add some spicy salsa and wrap it up in a taco the third day.
You can implement the same concept by using different spices and toppings. For example, eating overnight oats for breakfast 3x a week might seem monotonous, but not if you zhuzh it up with different toppings each time — add chopped apples and cinnamon one day; bananas and peanut butter another day; and make it savoury by topping with a boiled egg, tahini and sea salt the third day.
6. Eat
You’ve got all the work done, and now it’s time to eat — but what should you eat first?!
It’s a good idea to eat your meals strategically — consume any animal protein in the first few days, as well as any cooked greens (before they go soggy and limp). It’s also always a good idea to go with your best judgement — if something smells funky, has turned a weird colour, or just looks weird, don’t eat it.
Notes for meal prep success
~ Don’t let meal prepping overwhelm you, or cause anxiety. Start with something realistic and achievable — even 2 extra home cooked meals per week is a good start!
~ Spend time planning. This is the most crucial step, and can set you up for success or failure!
~ Check your calendar. Account for meetings, events, and meals you’re already going out for. Meal planning for one week at a time is better than planning weeks ahead.
~ If you’re just starting out, recruit a friend to meal prep with together. It’s a lot easier to swap recipes and figure out a system with someone else.
~ Stock your pantry. Seasoned planners know that this is the key to meal prep success. Keep a stock of basic ingredients you use over and over again — things like nuts and seeds, oils, grains, spices, lentils etc.
~ Before you go grocery shopping, take stock of your kitchen and pantry and cross off any items you already have. It’s also helpful when planning recipes — need to use up some lettuce? Make a salad. Have a bunch of apples? Chuck it in overnight oats, blend into smoothies. Got a big container of wild rice leftover from last week? Use it in your grain bowls.
~ Have a plan, but don’t go crazy with it. Your meal prep might not always work, life may come in the way and you might order takeout. That’s okay. Meal prep is a work in progress, and the more you do it, the better you’ll get at it.
Meal prepping takes time and effort, but is SO worth it in the end. You’ll feel so accomplished at the end of it, and be eating healthier, well-balanced meals. A little extra effort over the weekend will sort you out for the entire week, and you won’t need to stress about mealtimes every day.
Do you meal prep or would you like to start?
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